A screenshot from a July 7 broadcast of Tucker Carlson’s primetime show on Fox News, featuring Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Image by Fox News

By Ari Feldman July 9, 2020

David Duke, a former presidential candidate and leader of the Klu Klux Klan, as well as a racist and anti-Semite, said in a series of tweets Wednesday evening that Fox News host Tucker Carlson should be President Trump’s running mate for the 2020 campaign.

The comments came a day after Carlson was widely repudiated, including by former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign, for using a chyron on his show that many compared to the infamous “14 words” slogan used by white supremacists: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”

The segment came as Carlson has deepened his attacks on Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Thai-American veteran of the Iraq War, and who is speculated as a potential vice-presidential pick herself on Biden’s ticket. Carlson has also been railing against activists and Democratic political figures that want monuments to the Confederacy to be taken down across the country.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Trump & Tucker is the only way to stop the commie Bolsheviks! It is the only path to beat them! #TrumpTucker2020

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) July 9, 2020

Duke has praised Carlson repeatedly in recent years, as Carlson has embraced an increasingly sympathetic view of white supremacy. In August 2019 Carlson suggested that the issue of white supremacy in the U.S. is “a hoax.” Carlson made the comments days after revelations that the man who murdered 23 people at an El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart left behind a manifesto with many anti-immigrant statements and references to the common white supremacist theory of “ethnic replacement” by non-white people.

Tucker is RIGHT! White Supremacy is a ZioMedia Conspiracy Theory! The term is itself a lie. Millions of White activists are NOT “supremacists” We seek NOT to oppress or destroy any race! Human Rights for all – EVEN FOR WHITE PEOPLE! Stop antiWhite racism!https://t.co/vY0knfD0Xx

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) August 7, 2019

Duke wrote on Twitter that Carlson should be Trump’s pick before it is “too late,” suggesting that a Biden presidency would result in Carlson being forced off the air and “dissidents” being barred from having bank accounts and credit cards.

“It would make you IMPEACHMENT PROOF!” Duke wrote addressing Trump. “And Tucker would whip those Republican cucks in line and make them defend our freedom of speech and the heritage of the American people!”

Duke suggested that Pence could become Secretary of State, replacing Mike Pompeo, who Duke referred to as a “Zio NeoCon warmonger.”

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount